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Daily industrial news and top headlines for plant and maintenance managers

Boge Compressors (Powder Springs, GA) is planning to exhibit a number of new products at the Hannover Fair 2011 in Hannover, Germany, including an extended belt-drive C series screw compressor range. They are available up to 22 kW, and are extremely quiet during operation, according to the company.

Technicians working around hazardous equipment and high-voltage circuits could benefit from the clamp meters and four-channel handheld oscilloscopes from Fluke (Everett, WA). The test tools all exceed tough international standards for safe use in 480 volt electrical environments, and allow technicials—who must test live circuits—to do so at a safe distance.

Spirax Sarco (Blythewood, SC) has announced the release of the FTC80-FB ball float steam trap series, which is made for applications with pressures as high as 1,160psig. The FTC80-FB carbon steel series has a body and cover made of cast steel, with welded connections. They are self-modulating to provide soft and continuous discharge, which helps maintain stable process conditions.

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — The Philippine economy galloped to its highest annual growth in more than two decades, expanding 7.3 percent in 2010 on strong foreign trade and election spending, officials said Monday, forecasting an equally strong expansion this year.
Head of the government's statistical board Romulo Virola said the growth surpassed official growth projections of 5 percent to 6 percent.

LEWISTON, Maine (AP) — Canned beer isn't just for swilling anymore.
Baxter Brewing in Maine has joined a growing number of small craft-beer breweries distributing their brews in cans — just like mainstream mass-produced beers — rather than in bottles. A decade ago, it's believed there weren't any U.

GASTON, S.C. (AP) — It's a case of piggies providing power and it's a first for South Carolina.
Officials with Santee Cooper, Environmental Fabrics Inc., a firm based in Gaston, S.C., and Clemson University on Monday announced the construction of a new plant to generate electricity from the methane released by hog waste.

Alliance Packaging is a well-known, independent corrugated box manufacturer with several facilities located throughout northwest United States. The company provides a full range of packaging solutions from custom shipping containers to retail packaging, from stock boxes to in-store displays, from creative design to same day delivery service.

The new strike-free wrenches from Wright Tool (Barberton, OH) can be used for heavy-duty applications, where striking-face box wrenches cannot be used and where cheater bars should not be used. The wrenches also loosen and tighten large fasteners in confined areas where there is not enough room to swing a striking tool.

The new touch-screen Fan-Commander control station from Rite-Hite Fans (Milwaukee, WI) controls the operation of up to 18 high volume/low speed (HVLS) Revolution Fan or Revolution SP Fan models. With the Fan-Commander, users can optimize year-round performance of the fans. In the winter, the controller changes the fan speed to produce even temperatures from floor to ceiling for energy savings.

FLIR (Portland, OR) has unveiled three distinct thermal imaging product lines for every budget. The FLIR i3 is a sub-$1,200 point-and-shoot infrared camera, and is an affordable upgrade from single-spot infrared thermometers or “temperature guns” with numerical readouts. It offers a 60 x 60 pixel resolution and 2 percent thermal accuracy, according to the company.

Dorner (Hartland, WI) has developed a system to draw conveyor systems — www.dornercad.com — which is designed to save time and serve as a link to more than one million model possibilities. The new conveyor model configurator allows users to draw virtually any conveyor model in 3D, which allows users to see what their conveyors will look prior to purchase, and it allows them to change the conveyor sizes in increments as small as 1/8”.

When it comes to fenestration, the components of today’s energy-efficient doors and windows should be made with the same attention to resource management. Recently the Amesbury Group’s textile facility, part of its Sealing Solutions Division, completed a compressed air reduction project that will yield a $41,000 annual electricity cost savings in their extrusion department.

Most of my New Year’s resolutions have to do with breaking bad habits or developing good new ones: cutting back on frivolous spending, wasting less time online, and getting to the gym more often.
The problem that I have — a problem shared by about almost 70 percent of American and British adults — is breaking a bad habit alone.

NEW YORK (AP) — Three of the nation's biggest technology companies are committing hundreds of millions of dollars to an initiative backed by President Barack Obama to encourage job creation and economic growth by supporting small businesses.
The program, called the Startup America Partnership, is aimed at helping entrepreneurs start businesses and help them grow.

WALTHAM, Mass. (AP) — An alcohol-detection prototype that uses automatic sensors to instantly gauge a driver's fitness to be on the road has the potential to save thousands of lives, but could be as long as a decade away from everyday use in cars, federal officials and researchers said Friday.

DETROIT (AP) — An optimistic Chrysler narrowed its net loss significantly in the fourth quarter from a year ago and forecast a net profit for 2011 as it continued a comeback from bankruptcy protection.
Chrysler, which is controlled by Italy's Fiat Group SpA, predicted it would make $200 million to $500 million this year, setting the stage for an initial public stock offering that could take place in the fourth quarter.

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) — The Western business elite can't seem to decide whether China is a savior or a threat.
Nearly everyone speaking at the World Economic Forum this week had something to say about the world's new No. 2 economy. Some jockeyed for greater access to China's markets, some pleaded for China to let its currency rise and allow more political freedoms.

OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) — Oshkosh Corp. says it's hiring 650 to 750 people in Oshkosh, thanks to a military truck contract.
Company spokesman John Daggett says career fairs are planned for February. The company is looking for employees with production experience, especially in welding and assembly.